Kesseböhmer to the power of three

Co-innovation, artificial intelligence, speech recognition and the rapidly rising popularity of smart, connected products – these are the topics that defined IFA 2018. The world’s leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances attracted 245,000 visitors to Berlin this year. Kesseböhmer also took part, no less than three times over. Kesseböhmer Beschlagsysteme, Bad Essen, Kesseböhmer Warenpräsentation, Bohmte, and Storebest, Lübeck, used a 150 square metre area of the Liebherr exhibition stand to demonstrate how cross-business solutions come about within a corporate group.

Kesseböhmer Beschlagsysteme, Bad Essen, and Liebherr-Hausgeräte, Ochsenhausen, have been collaborating since the middle of 2017 on the initiative of Jessica Solis-Twardy, Project Coordinator at Kesseböhmer. This co-operation is all about equipping Kesseböhmer food storage products and Liebherr fridges and freezers together with modular technology and presenting them in the environment of smart technology in order to get feedback from the market for marketing purposes. At the IFA from 31 August to 5 September 2018, the two companies showed for the first time in Germany how refrigerators and freezers become active partners in a clever food management system side by side with the “Tandem” larder.

This was based on a showcase illustrating how it works day by day: While still at work in the office, some guests invite themselves for dinner. On the spur of the moment, the “SmartDevice” technology makes planning easier: using the “SmartDevice” app on a mobile device, the user can inspect their fridge, freezer and store cupboards. Recognition of the food items using the camera creates the prerequisite for comparing their contents with a database and preparing a shopping list. Even whole recipes can be integrated into the food management system.

Then it was off to the supermarket with the digital shopping list. “At home”, the shopping found its way into the larder, fridge and freezer, which demonstrated their storage space in the context of ease of viewing and access. So everything was on hand as soon as the shared cooking experience got started.

Hand in hand

The fact that Kesseböhmer and Liebherr could demonstrate the perfect interplay of food storage, storage space, shopfitting and smart technology together at IFA was thanks to the openness of all the project members to innovative ideas but also the will to shape the future together across the businesses within the corporate group. This was emphasised by Karsten Daniel, Head of Development at Storebest, Mario Goda, Sales Director, International & Business Segment Development at Kesseböhmer Warenpräsentation, and Thomas Laaff, Head of Product Management at Kesseböhmer Beschlagsysteme, in unison.

They explained that the project showed Kesseböhmer can operate quickly and flexibly not just in shopfitting but also in the kitchen and they were in a position to fully fit out supermarkets along with Liebherr. Kesseböhmer Beschlagsysteme developed special camera brackets specifically for their “Tandem” dry food storage cupboard, which is particularly suitable as a smart home fitting with its neatly arranged interior. Kesseböhmer Warenpräsentation supplied the entrance barrier, till module and fruit and vegetable counter in the supermarket. Storebest provided the dry goods shelving. Business relations amongst themselves and with their partner, Liebherr-Hausgeräte, were intensified in close collaboration for the presentation at IFA 2018.

A principle of organisation that has been tried and tested a million times over, the link between cabinet and door shelf and the simple one-handed operation bring the fridge and “Tandem” larder together symbiotically as one unit. “SmartDevice” technology lends the whole thing a smart shell. The perfect interplay was demonstrated by Kesseböhmer together with Liebherr-Hausgeräte at IFA.